101 Steak’s Butternut Squash and Granny Smith Apple Soup Pairs Well With Warre’s Fine White Porto
Autumn is finally here, which means soup season is too. It’s the perfect time to cozy up to a delightful butternut squash soup and wine. Enjoy this fall soup and wine pairing by 101 Steak in their patio dining area.
The dish, chosen by chef Thomas Coulter, is the butternut squash and Granny Smith apple soup. It is garnished with shaved Granny Smith apples, crème fraîche and a sage leaf.
To prepare the dish, Coulter first roasts squash in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, he sautes the peeled apples along with sweet Vidalia onions in a pot and adds the roasted squash meat. The dish is seasoned with ginger, allspice, fennel seed, rubbed sage and pepper, then the squash and chicken stock are added. Coulter reduces the dish before adding heavy cream. For a finishing touch, he tops the dish with maple syrup.
“To me, squash and all of the seasonings embody fall in the east,” Thomas says about why he included this dish on the fall menu. “The flavors remind the diner of changing leaves.”
The wine chosen by beverage director Chris Reid is Warre’s Fine White Porto. Often, when pairing soups, people feel the need to apply a lighter wine. Ironically, many soups are made with a sherry base and are considered intense and heavy in flavor. So following tradition with a twist, instead of sherry, the Warre’s White Porto wraps its layer and complexity around every taste of the soup, cleansing the palate and helping to maintain the intensity of the dish.
101 Steak is located at 3621 Vinings Slope SE, .